sbrownn

Most of the "clone" sewing machines are made in China, some different brands are even made in the same factory. That being said, what is sold in China isn't necessarily identical to what is shipped to the US. In addition you lose out on service and technical help. If it were me I would probably purchase one of the Cowboy or Cobra machines from a local supplier. Despite what some on this site might claim about "made in China" these machines have an appreciative and loyal following and you have only to read the comments to se why.

That's fine but we were talking about the quality of Chinese made tools, not your particular biased politics.

Don't let anyone tell you everything from China is junk because it isn't. Shop around and read reviews. Some of the Chinese made tools are actually quite good.

Grizzly tool company has reasonably priced granite slabs.

From your pictures it's hard to see the stitches but I'm guessing by loops you mean the bottom thread being pulled up to where it can be seen from the top? That would mean you need to either loosen the top tension or increase the bobbin tension to bring the knot to the middle of the two pieces. I would try reducing the top tension first as the stitches look plenty tight.

The problem I have with splitters like this is that it is hard to manually pull the leather through them and as you thin it down the more it distorts when you try to pull it through. I tried to do some wallet pockets using a splitter like this and finally gave up. The problem I had was it took a number of passes to get down to the thickness I wanted due to the force required to pull it through and, as I mentioned, when I got down to the last few splits, the leather distorted so much from the force necessary to pull it through it was unusable. Maybe you will have better luck. I have a number of Chinese made tools and have never had any problems with them so that, to me, is a non issue.

I hadn't realized that. Good to know. Thanks!

Does your table saw have a motor hanging off a belt that drives the blade arbor or is it direct drive? Soft start has the advantage of lowering the starting current of a motor so if your motor has a running current that is close to the capacity of the breaker, it keeps the breaker from tripping when it starts; starting current is significantly higher than running current.

I agree. I have two synchronizers and don't actually use either one anymore.

If you are using a speed reducer you probably don't need soft start. If not, probably not too. I have tried it both ways and had no problems either way.

The synchronizers work fine with speed reducers. I have them on two machines. Since the speed reducer is ahead of the synchronizer mounted on the handwheel and it works off of position it doesn't even know if there is a speed reducer.

I like to use a combination of a male and female molds for my pockets and bags. I don't have to worry about the corners and I can mold any type of leather. The veg-tan and bridle leather I soak for a few minutes before pressing and the latigo and harness leather goes in the microwave for 15 seconds before pressing. Microwaving the latigo works really well as the mold is pressed while the stuffing is hot and when it cools it hardens and helps to maintain the shape. So far I haven't found any leather I can't mold using this technique.

I use my low angle block plane to true up the edges of the items I make...no sanding necessary if the plane is sharp.

No kidding. I bought a strap punch a few years back that was surprisingly dull and poorly finished.

I'm not sure why you need a clicker die to prototype. I use a 3D printer to make 2D patterns for my prototyping and then cut around them with a knife. I had this idea to 3D print clicker dies that would have a slot in them that you could fit a band knife into. I did give it a try but the band knife stock I purchased was way too stiff to bend and fit into the slot. My pattern had too many sharp curves but if you eliminated the sharp curves the process works fine. My next idea is to use a thinner bandsaw knife blade but I haven't gotten around to experimenting with it yet. Another idea I had was to just use blades for the straight sections and then cut the curves with a knife.

The Chahin Bridle leather from American Leather Direct is very nice. It comes in a lot of colors and weights and instead of being split only, the lighter weights are pasted on the back. It holds stamping well and when wetted for shaping absorbs moisture well and doesn't change color.

Oops. I see you mentioned the thickness. Maybe the particular tanning process is the culprit.

How thick is the leather you are trying to fold?

Here are all the files for the parts I use to make a Leatherman belt sheath. If you want complete instructions on how to use them let me know by email. sbrownn1069@gmail.com Single Leatherman Alignment Jig.STL Single Leatherman Belt Loop.STL Single Leatherman FeMale Mold.STL Single Leatherman Male Mold.STL Single Leatherman Tongue.STL Single Leatherman Trimmer.STL

Okay, I'll dig them up and post them.

You should line the next one.

Here are two files, male and female, for the mold for the pocket of a Leatherman Wave belt sheath. The complete set requires three more files which I will post if anyone is interested. The pocket mold set is designed to be used with up to 0.1" thickness leather. Single Leatherman Male Mold.STLSingle Leatherman FeMale Mold.STL

That's a nice machine. Has it been sold yet?

That's very nice.

I never, ever sand leather. Sanding raises fibers which then have to be dealt with. I find that if I use a sharp knife to do the final edge cut and a sharp edger to finish off the edges no sanding is necessary. In fact sanding ruins the nice cut edges. For final steps I finish off with Tokonole, a dremel burnish and a final hand rub with canvas and liquid wax.